A new ad from Samsung recently caused controversy because it featured a woman running alone in the middle of the night. The Korean giant was forced to apologize.
Almost a month ago, Samsung posted a new advertisement on its YouTube channel for its Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy S22 products. Entitled “Night Owls” (night owl), it depicts a woman who goes for a run alone in London in the middle of the nightthe aim being to celebrate individuality and the freedom to exercise anytime “.
The problem is that this advertisement has since been criticized a lot, in particular for its “lack of discernment” with regard to the safety of women. Some thought it was unacceptable that Samsung shows a woman walking alone at two in the morning, and that the situation was “unreal”. In the 46th second, a young man on a bicycle was even introduced into the spot to try and get the lady’s attention. The owl, however, keeps a watchful eye on her as she continues her run through the streets.
Samsung forced to apologize
In response to heavy criticism of it, the Korean giant told Radio 1 Newsbeat that its intention was never ” to be insensitive to ongoing conversations about women’s safety “. ” We apologize for how this may have been received. Adds the smartphone maker, which risks burying yet another device at the end of the year.
Such publicity might have gone unnoticed a few months ago, but the death of a 23-year-old in Tullamore, Ireland, has sparked a debate about women who feel unsafe when they run alone, especially at night. Samsung’s advertising therefore comes at the wrong time.
This is not the first time this year that Samsung has been at the heart of a controversy. The Korean giant had already been forced to apologize a month ago after limiting the performance of its 2022 high-end smartphone, the Galaxy S22. Samsung was accused ofvoluntarily prevent its smartphones from using the full performance offered by the processor in order to improve their autonomy, but also to save money on components.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnEzVb_AAiI
